Food poisoning
by Dtksgirl
Summary: "But we can still get hurt and die. But not from food poisoning." Pearl knew this from experience. A horrible..horrible experience.


Pearl sat on the couch, that was placed in Greg's storage shed, her head turned from the others, first in a tight ball, pressed on her lips, and one leg bouncing only slightly. She was feeling MISERABLE. Ever since that morning, her stomach had been doing backflips. And it seemed to just be growing worse. Every now and then, it felt like something was trying to claw its way out of her stomach but she managed to keep it in. But now the pain and uncomfertablnss had grown to excruciating levels. Tonight, Greg had asked them to come watch a movie with him. Pearl had tried to object, but when Rose accepted, Pearl knew she had to go. Now she just regretted it. The smell of the popcorn wasn't faring her any better either. She just wanted to go lie down, or curl up and die. She regretted every bite of food she had eaten in the past fourty-eight hours. The meat she had made last night, and the salad. The tea she drank today and the eggs Greg had insisted she try. Even the sweet ice cream that Amethyst had offered her.

Her stomach convulsed once more causing her to stifle a moan. But it came out sounding like a whimper. Rose glanced at her and could see her friends pained expression. "Are you alright?" Rose whispered. Pearl nodded, not wanting to make her worried, when she knew in fact that something wasn't right. Rose could tell as well that she was lying when she saw Pearl squeeze her eyes shut and hiss in pain as she drew her knees closer to herself. "Pearl what wrong?" She asked placing a hand on her shoulder, getting the others attention. Greg paused the movie and leaned foreward to see her.

"I think her stomach hurts." Greg observed, noticing the way she had one of her arms wrapped around her abdomen. Pearl shot him a glare, as if telling him to mind his own business. She then looked up at Rose.

"Dont worry about me." She said as she gave her a strained smile. "I'm fine okay? Just..keep watching the movie and I'll be fine I promise." She assured her. But Rose didn't want to. She knew Pearl was in pain and was just refusing help.

"How can your stomach hurt if you hardly eat?" Amethyst asked, swinging her little legs.

"I saw her using Greg's grill yesterday, making some sort of meat for us." Garent observed. Since Pearl found an interest in human cooking, she had taken to making meals for them. "I saw her taste it a few times before throwing it away." Pearl remembered that. She was trying to make sure it came out well. She had thrown it away when she discovered the odd discoloration of it that didn't do away. Better safe then sorry.

"Oh man!" Said Greg. "There was some meat in my freezer, is that the one you used?" He asked. Pearl nodded, as Rose put her hand on Pearl's back, and Pearl kept both hands around her abdomen. "That went bad months ago! I meant to throw it out but I kept forgetting!" Pearls eyes went wide before they furrowed into a glare.

"So you mean I cooked rancid meat because you were too lazy to...!" She stopped there. Something didn't feel right.

"Pearl?" Rose said gently as she saw Pearl's eyes go wide, and her breathing come quicker. This feeling again. Something was clawing to get out. But this time it was very strong. Her throat felt like acid and hot saliva pooled in her mouth. Her stomach was no longer contracting, but was now lurching.

"R-r-Rose. I-." She stumbled out, trying to get a firm base on her words. But when she tried to continue, she gagged heavily and clamped her hand over her mouth. Something was coming out of her. What was that? She gagged again as her head began to spin and she let out a foul tasting burp. A moment later whatever was in her stomach projectiled from her throat and to her mouth.

Rose jerked her arm away, as Pearl suddenly leaned foreward, and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the concrete floor of the storage shed. Rose cried out in shock, as did Garnet and Amethyst. Amethyst soon began to cry.

"What's wrong with her?" She sobbed. They hardly ever ate and they were just getting used to the digestion process. But they had never seen it go into reverse! Rose had begun to tear up. Pearl was as well. She managed to but stayed kneeled over for fear of it not being over. Instead her shoulders shook with sobs. She couldn't say a word as she found herself having a bit of trouble taking in a breath. She gave a shuddery gasp and soon vomited again.

Greg patted Rose on the shoulder. "Don't worry Rose, it's just food poisoning." Rose's tears came down tenfold.

"Poisoning?" She cried. "Oh no!" She sobbed.

"No no!" Greg cried. "She ate something that went bad. There were bad things in it so those bad things went into her body. Her body is just trying to get rid of those bad things." Greg explained. It was sort of like explaining it to a child. Rose nodded and sniffed. He approached Pearl and felt her forehead. She had a fever, like he had expected. Her body was trying to rid herself of a pathogen, so it was heating up, trying to fight it off.

"Will she be okay?" She asked.

"Probaly. She'll be sick for a few days but after that she'll be right as rain." He assured her. Rose sighed in relief. Since she knew now that it was nothing to be worried about, her motherly instincts kicked in and she patted Pearl on the back. Pearl slowly looked up at her, tears streaming down her face. Her stomach still hurt like crazy and now she was just frightened. "Why don't you take her back to the temple." He suggested. "We'll meet you there later." He said as he squeezed Amethysts hand, as she was still crying. Some Lil butler would likely cheer her up. He then quietly told Rose a few tips, like what would probably help with stomach pain, nausea, and he added in the erm..preferable places to be sick to make sure no more floors were messed up. Rose helped Pearl get shakily onto her feet and led her away. As she passed by the mounds of accumulating things, she snatched up a bucket from the tops of one of the piles.

The walk was silent, broken every now and then by Pearl's sniffling. Pearl's hands remained around her abdomen. She herself was not used to eating. She was starting to get used to it, but now..she was pretty sure she would never eat again. By the time they had arrived back at the temple, Pearl was feeling exhausted. She sat on the warp pad, and put her head between her knees. Rose got down and silently removed Pearl's shoes and then her leg warmers which also had a bit of vomit on them. Rose then sat next to the smaller gem and rubbed her back. "Don't worry Pearl." She said. "You'll feel better soon." She assured her. Pearl didn't answer. Instead she let out a hitched sob and then gagged. Rose handed her the metal bucket and Pearl promptly began to vomit once more. Rose continued to rub her back as she heaved.

"I feel horrible." Pearl sobbed before she started up again, coughing up her food and burning her throat. "I feel like I'm dying." She admitted as she shook, feeling childish.

Prose chuckled a little. "You won't be killed by food poisoning Pearl." She said with a small smile. Pearl blinked back the tears as she slowly sat up and returned the smile with one that wasn't as big, but still sent the Same message.

PRESENT

Pearl sighed as she watched Amethyst curl up on the floor, her skin a sickly green color. She had just explained to steven how gems could die, and Ametyst had been a fool, eating something so bad, and now seemed to be suffering from food poisoning.

"But not from Food poisoning." She said. She knew from experience.


End file.
